Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have decried comments by China’s ambassador to France, who has called into question the sovereignty of former Soviet bloc countries, according to news outlets.
The headquarters of China’s foreign ministry in Beijing. Max12Max, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Lu Shaye made the remarks in an interview with French television on Friday, Poland’s biznesalert.pl website reported.
Asked if he considered the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, to be part of Ukraine under international law, the Chinese envoy told private broadcaster LCI: “Even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have effective status, as we say, under international law because there’s no international accord to concretise their status as a sovereign country.”
Baltic states, France, EU, condemn Chinese envoy’s remarks
The governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia condemned Lu Shaye’s remarks and summoned the Chinese ambassadors in their respective countries to clarify Beijing’s position on their sovereignty, according to biznesalert.pl.
Meanwhile, France’s foreign ministry said it heard Lu Shaye’s comments with “dismay” and demanded to know if these remarks reflected China’s official position, “which we hope not to be the case,” as quoted by Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called the Chinese envoy’s remarks “unacceptable” and said they would be part of the discussion at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday, which would also seek to „assess and recalibrate strategy towards China,” according to news outlets.
Fiasco of Macron’s plan?
Lu Shaye’s comments undermined French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to use the talks between his diplomatic adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, and China’s top diplomat Qin Gang, to explore a possible peace initiative in Ukraine, biznesalert.pl reported.
Macron’s recent policy towards China and his comments about Taiwan have irritated the White House, according to the Polish website.
During a recent visit to Beijing, the French president sought to single-handedly convince China to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, and refused to voice support for the government in Taipei, biznesalert.pl reported.
Last week Macron cautioned against being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan driven by an „American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction,” according to the Reuters news agency.
The French head of state and US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone last week, biznesalert.pl reported.
While in Beijing earlier this month, Macron told Chinese President Xi Jinping: „I know I can count on you to bring Russia to its senses, and bring everyone back to the negotiating table.”
However, many countries have been sceptical about China’s ability to act as a mediator in the Ukraine war, given Beijing’s “friendship without limits” with Russia, biznesalert.pl reported.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have repeatedly pledged to strengthen bilateral ties, including among China’s and Moscow’s armed forces, according to the Polish website.
Now Lu Shaye’s comments raise fresh questions about the faith Macron has placed in China to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, The Guardian reported.
On Monday, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that Beijing “respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter,” according to the UK newspaper.
(pm/gs)
Source: biznesalert.pl, Reuters, The Guardian